Chewy Ginger Cookies

A Cook's Illustrated recipe I searched www.food.com and did not find this recipe I found some excellent recipes but I thought I would add this one as I do like to use ginger cookies for cheesecake crusts and this recipe makes a quantity that could be easily frozen for future use. If you plan to decorate your gingerbread cookies and make ornaments out of them, follow the recipe for Thin, Crisp Gingerbread Cookies #446302. Because flour is not added during rolling, dough scraps can be rolled and cut as many times as necessary Don't over bake the cookies or they will be dry. Store soft gingerbread in a wide, shallow airtight container or tin with a sheet of parchment or waxed paper between each cookie layer. These cookies are best eaten within one week. If you make gingerbread people, this recipe will make about twenty 3-inch people.

Scrape dough onto work surface; divide in half. Working with one portion of dough at a time, roll 1/4-inch thick between two large sheets of parchment paper. Leaving dough sandwiched between parchment layers, stack on cookie sheet and freeze until firm, 15 to 20 minutes. Alternatively, refrigerate dough 2 hours or overnight.

Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Remove one dough sheet from freezer; place on work surface. Peel off top parchment sheet and gently lay it back in place. Flip dough over; peel off and discard second parchment layer. Cut dough into 5-inch gingerbread people or 3-inch gingerbread cookies, transferring shapes to parchment-lined cookie sheets with wide metal spatula, spacing them 3/4 inch apart; set scraps aside. Repeat with remaining dough until cookie sheets are full. Bake cookies until set in centers and dough barely retains imprint when touched very gently with fingertip, 8 to 11 minutes, rotating cookie sheets front to back and switching positions top to bottom halfway through baking time. Do not over bake. Cool cookies on sheets 2 minutes, then remove with wide metal spatula to wire rack; cool to room temperature.

Gather scraps; repeat rolling, cutting, and baking in steps 2 and 4. Repeat with remaining dough until all dough is used.